This sarong belongs to the Peranakan Chinese and would have been worn with a blouse known as a ‘kebaya’. It features a panel of foliage and floral designs in diagonal stripes in the ‘kepala’ (‘head panel’) of the cloth while the rest of the body is decorated with large floral bouquets and diagonal lattices in the background. Peranakan Chinese batik is noted for its gay colours—such as shades of orange, yellow, pink and mauve—made possible by the use of imported chemical dyes from Europe beginning in the 19th century.
